So I was working out a spec for my friends guardian...
As a Guardian, now leveling a Warrior for fun…
You’re right, the Guardian’s damage output can be obscene when traited well; of course the key there is that they have the durability and the weapons to stick in melee range. There’s no denying we’re a powerful profession, but we do have our weaknesses.
First and foremost among those weaknesses, burst damage output. Whirling Wrath is decent, and the hammer 2 deals just about as much damage, but having tried out axe/axe warrior… Guardians still can’t compete with that level of burst. If we spec too much for burst damage, we lose a lot of the survivability that lets us stand toe-to-toe with an enemy (not all of it, mind you, but a significant amount).
Another main weakness is our lack of ranged options. Guardian ranged combat is effectively limited to 900 range for the staff and 600 for the scepter, and is limited to applying burning (generally short-duration) as our only damage condition. Scepter has 1200 range, but the projectiles are so slow that they are nearly entirely ineffective beyond 600 range (900 against slow targets). Our multi-target ranged ability is also very weak, with the staff (primarily a support weapon) “filling” that role. With a setup that lands 2k autoattack crits regularly with the hammer or greatsword, I’m lucky to crit for 800 with the staff (including might stacks).
Warrior, by contrast, has the rifle, with tremendous burst damage (both F1 and rapid fire), bleed on autoattack, a cripple, a knockback, and vulnerability. You also have the longbow, which functions quite well damaging targets from range and can obliterate things in melee range.
Speaking of bleeds, Guardians can really only apply one damaging condition, and that condition does not stack in intensity. This severely limits our usefulness against enemies with very high armor.
Guardian ranged weaponry is all about the supportive aspects. Not that that’s bad; it’s just different. Warriors have far more options for how, when, and in what way they wish to deal damage. Guardians have far more options when it comes to making the group more effective. They’re different styles, and it’s hard to say whether one is definitively better than another. I can pull stunts in solo PvE with my level 25 warrior that I would never have dared to do with my Guardian at that level, but at the same time I can face things with my Guardian that I wouldn’t be able to even touch with the warrior.
LMAO so hard at the OP thinking glass cannon Guardian is viable. Seriously I’m trying so hard to not laugh but I can’t.
Since people are negative about nerfs, how about we buff to balance then?
LMAO so hard at the OP thinking glass cannon Guardian is viable. Seriously I’m trying so hard to not laugh but I can’t.
Where did OP say anything about glass guardian? Or are you just seeing what you want to see?
In regards to guards and warriors, guardians can definitely pull a better glass build than warriors because of their self heals, blocks, and blinds. This isn’t to say that they’re ultra effective when built glass, but a glass guardian will still outshine a glass warrior.
LMAO so hard at the OP thinking glass cannon Guardian is viable. Seriously I’m trying so hard to not laugh but I can’t.
but a glass guardian will still outshine a glass warrior.
You should’ve seen back in the beta days… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYIs74sMjt4&list=PLD58BD5117C5E7276&index=12&feature=plpp_video
’twas glorious.